Serendipity
by Fedora The Explora
Summary: When Kaiba comes down with the flu, Mokuba goes to great lengths to keep his brother from going to work. These methods put a great strain on the brothers' typically loving relationship, but after a catastrophe, maybe Kaiba will see that everything happens for a reason. Rated for future things I have planned.
1. Impending Doom

Serendipity

When my big brother begins to get sick, it's a very serious and very ominous situation not unlike that of an impending hurricane. I'd noticed at dinner that his pale face was flushed and his eyes were blank and droopy, and when I went to hug him goodnight, he was burning up. Badly. But when it comes to Seto, it's useless to ask him if he's okay. He'd tell me that he was fine, and if I pressed the issue, he'd tell me he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself, that he has too much work to do to worry about it, _blah blah blah_...as much as I adore my big brother, I admit that I get just as frustrated with him as everybody else does.

I slept fine for a couple hours before waking up after a weird dream; not a nightmare, just one of those dreams that are so bizarre that you wake up wondering how your own brain could even project something like that, and briefly consider therapy. It involved a wedding between the Dark Magician and the Mystical Elf, but then the Dark Magician Girl showed up and it turned into the worst soap opera ever. To calm my mind I started to head to the kitchen to get some water, but on my way downstairs I passed Seto's room, and I have never heard him making so much noise in my life.

The first thing I could hear was loud hacking from the second I stepped into the hall. That's when I realized he was actually in the bathroom, violently vomiting into the toilet. I vaguely wondered what he had even eaten that could come up, but this wasn't the real problem. Concerned, I stood frozen right outside his bedroom door, hiding in the shadows so he wouldn't catch a glimpse of me lurking around through the door he always left open. I heard him groan softly as he stumbled back into bed, and once the light clicked off again, I crept silently over to the oversized chair in the corner of his room near the mahogany bookcase. As I settled into it, Seto burst into a coughing fit and suddenly began to struggle to breathe. I jumped to my feet and ran to his side to pound on his back; in the dark, he couldn't see it was me, so he pushed me off, and I stumbled back into his nightstand with a yelp and a whine.

"Mokuba!" he gasped, wheezing heavily as soon as he flipped the light on again. I rubbed my arm where it got bumped, but moved towards my brother again.

"I'm going to get you some medicine," I said quietly, and headed back to the bathroom to where he kept the flu medicine. When I returned, he was scowling at me. "What?"

"I thought you were asleep when I checked on you. How long have you been in here?" he demanded, snatching the bottle from me. I closed my eyes for a second to conserve my own temper. I'd forgotten how much Seto's anger intensifies when he gets sick. I decided to play a bit of a pity card.

"I _was_ sleeping, Seto. Then I had a bad dream, so I came to sleep on the chair. Then I heard you get sick," I responded sadly, dropping my head and crossing my arms.

"I'm not that sick, Mokuba, I'll live." Seto poured a double dose of the medicine and downed it; I winced, knowing all too well how nasty that stuff is. "But if it'll help you sleep better, you can stay with me." I smiled at him and he sighed, scooting over so he was on the other side of his giant bed. I crawled in after him and turned off the light once again before stretching out on my stomach. Seto coughed once more before lying on his side, facing me.

Only a few moments passed before my brother began to snore loudly through his stuffed up nose. I cringed as I listened. Seto almost never snores, and it's never this loud on those rare occasions that he does. He began to convulse and cough in his sleep, and for a moment I thought he was going to throw up again. Then I realized he just needed to get the mucus out of his nose to be able to breathe, so I reached for the box of tissues next to his bed and gently held them to his face. He instinctively blew his nose and I wiped his nose off for him, then quietly leaned over to drop the soiled tissues in the wastebasket next to his bed. I also turned the light back on and studied him. He would be pretty snippy if he knew I was taking care of him (especially when I should be sleeping too), but at least he was breathing more clearly, if only a little bit. There was no way I could let him go to his meetings, but how do you keep a stubborn workaholic brother in bed against his will, especially when he's a good two feet taller than you and infinitely stronger?

Handcuffs, of course.

The thought popped into my head unbidden, but it was ingenious. When Seto and I were at the orphanage, some donors had given all the kids their very own toys, and I got a policeman set. It came with a squirt gun, a badge, and handcuffs with a key. I never knew why I kept it, but at least it finally came in handy. The handcuffs weren't the most secure things, but with any luck, Seto would be too delirious to figure out how to escape them. I slipped out of his bed, rushed to my room, and shuffled around my drawer until I found them. Then I scurried back to his room, and gently lifted one of his hands near the wooden headboard, then quickly snapped the cuffs in place. He mumbled something, and I froze, but he didn't wake. I relaxed again and unplugged his alarm clock. He wouldn't need it.

I wandered over to his computer, powered it on, and logged into my email so I could check the Kaiba Corp calendar and scanned for my brother's meetings for the day. He only had two, and they weren't incredibly important. I sighed and stared over at my sleeping brother. He was going to kill me, but at least I could prevent him from working himself to death. That was my main priority. I turned my attention back to the computer and added each employee to my email, then typed a quick memo stating that Seto was ill and both meetings were cancelled.

After that, I walked back to the bed and sat right next to him, then brushed his hair away from his face and placed my hand on his forehead. He was just so warm. Suddenly, I heard someone clear their throat at the doorway and I turned to find Roland, my brother's right-hand man, standing there, looking a bit confused. I jumped up and ran out to speak with him in the hall.

"I was worried when neither of you were down in the kitchen, and you weren't in your bed. Is everything all right?" Roland asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

I sighed. "I think Seto's got the flu, I had to take care of him last night. We won't need the limo today and I cancelled both of his meetings." Roland's eyes widened in slight amusement.

"Forgive me, but I noticed the handcuffs...you're using them to keep your brother in bed, aren't you?" he said, though the last part wasn't really a question. I grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"They're a toy from a long time ago, but I didn't know what else to do." I shook my head, with my smile fading. "I am in so much trouble."

Roland smiled knowingly. "Well, sir, you know how to get ahold of me if you need me." I smiled and nodded in thanks, then returned to my brother's side. I laid down next to him, and when the exhaustion from being up all night hit me, I fell asleep.


	2. The Past Is The Past

Serendipity

"_Mokuba_!"

I was startled out of my sleep by an angry shout next to me. I'd fallen asleep while lying on Seto's arm, trying to disguise his captivity, but apparently I'd moved around enough that I was sprawled out on my stomach with half my body dangling off the edge of the bed. I scrambled into a sitting position just out of reach from my furious brother.

"What?" I asked dumbly. His eyes went from glaring flames to dowsing me mercilessly in full-on fiery infernos, and I winced and drew back further. I was only trying to help him, but he'd never looked at me like that before. It was usually reserved for people who got in his way. Then again, I guess I kind of did this time...

"Let me go. Now. I have to get to work-" he choked himself off, and that's when I realized there was one little thing I'd forgotten, which happened to be the fact that my brother was nauseous. He proceeded to heave stomach acid all over his comforter. I cringed and slid off the bed, stepping back. After he was done, he glared at me again. "What the fuck are you doing? I told you to let me go."

I narrowed my eyes and snatched his comforter. "Seto, you're not going anywhere. You are sick, and you need to rest. Please, just listen to me-"

"I would have been more willing to listen to you if you hadn't handcuffed me to my headboard!" Seto thundered.

"What would that have changed?" I shouted back. "You still would have been cranky and rude, but you would have gone to work instead of getting the rest you need when you're sick!"

"The stress of you not being able to follow direct orders is invalidating whatever extra rest I may have gotten," he shot back bitterly, but his face immediately froze. He hadn't meant to say that; I was aware of this. It hurt a little bit, but mostly it gave me an excuse to leave him there without answering. I stared at him for a moment, then dropped his comforter and headed down to my room.

"Wait! Mokuba!" my brother shouted after me, and continued to yell as I continued to ignore him. I decided that maybe giving him his laptop so he could work from home wouldn't be so bad, except that he'd left it at work. He also needed his homework. I glanced at the clock; it was after eight in the morning now. It wouldn't be too early to call Yugi and ask him to drop off both items, so I pulled out my cell phone and sent him a text. He was in school, so it was quicker that way. Just as I'd expected, he replied within a few minutes telling me it was no problem. I smiled. What Seto didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

I grabbed my comforter and went back to my brother's room, where he was still pathetically attached to his bed, lying on his back, and staring at the ceiling. I cleared my throat and he lifted his head immediately.

"Mokuba. I didn't mean to say that."

"Yes, you did," I responded, approaching him and throwing my blanket over him. "I forgive you, but I'm not letting you go anywhere."

"Mokuba," he groaned, but I held up my hand.

"I sent for your laptop and your homework, and they'll be here this afternoon, but please sleep now, Seto. You're very sick and I only have one brother...I need to take care of you, and you need to take care of yourself." I picked up his comforter and brought it to the laundry chute and sent it down to get washed, then turned back to my brother. "Please?"

He groaned. "Only if you get rid of these ridiculous handcuffs."

"...Fine," I agreed reluctantly, then fished the key from my pocket and unlocked his arm. He sighed and rubbed his wrist, then turned on his side and looked up at me. I touched his forehead; it was even warmer than the previous night. "You really are sick, Seto."

"I know, Mokuba," he answered quietly, closing his eyes for a few moments before opening them again. "Will you hand me the medicine?" I nodded and reached over to grab the bottle sitting on his nightstand and held it out for him. He took a long drink straight out of it and I gasped.

"Seto!"

He rolled his eyes and replaced the cap. "Relax, it's not going to hurt me." He handed the bottle back to me; there was maybe a quarter bottle left despite being new when I'd given it to him the previous night. I shook my head and placed it back on the nightstand as Seto stretched out on his back and wrapped his left arm around his head while closing his eyes. I noticed him shivering, so I pulled the blankets up to his shoulders and tucked them around him, then I reached out to grab his hand that was lying on the pillow next to his head. I avoided his eyes as I held it and absently traced the faint scars that so many people had inflicted across the top of his hand. They reminded me of our horrible past, our lost childhood, and all our sacrifices.

True, Seto had to sacrifice a lot more than me. There were scars he'd gotten for sleeping when they wanted him to be awake. There were scars from when he'd answered the (very) occasional question incorrectly. There were scars from when Seto completely disregarded any respect Gozaburo demanded, and decided that an equally offensive attitude was the best course of action. I pulled up his sleeve slightly and stared at the white scars on his wrists and forearms. Those scars were the ones he'd given himself. I remembered that when I'd discovered them, he explained that whenever Gozaburo or any of his lackeys hurt him, it relieved his mind from the overwhelming stress and mental pain that he was to be focusing on. After Gozaburo's death, the only way for him to escape the memories was to be hurt. I never quite understood how causing more pain could actually erase pain, but I never asked him about it. I just begged him to stop, and after he'd blown up that stupid island, he did. It took a long time, but at least that was over with.

"Mokuba," said my brother sleepily as he squeezed my hand, and he turned his head to look tiredly into my eyes. "Stop looking at that if it upsets you." I replaced the sleeve of his navy blue pajama shirt, but still clung to his hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, as though it was no big deal. "Just thinking."

"Well, stop thinking about whatever's on your mind, because it's upsetting you." Seto squeezed my hand once again before pulling his hand away so he could roll onto his side and completely bury himself under the covers. "You only try to break my hand like that when something's bothering you, and if you aren't going to talk to me about it, then I'd prefer you didn't worry about it."

I rolled my eyes and stifled a yawn, hoping Seto wouldn't notice, but of course he did. He reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me to his chest. I buried my face into his shoulder and let myself relax, and I thought I might even sleep. However, that wish died as soon as my brother began to snore loudly right in my ear, so I groaned inwardly and gently pushed away from him, stood up, and walked back to the oversized chair. I sat down and pulled out my phone, discovering I had a new text message. I opened it, and it was from Yugi.

**I can drop off Kaiba's homework but won't have time to pick up his laptop from work. Is it all right if Joey goes to get it for you? He's leaving school right before lunch anyhow.**

**No problem, Yugi!** I typed into my phone, then sat back into the chair and began to play games on it until Joey stopped by with my brother's beloved laptop.


	3. Ashes

Serendipity

The next few hours were filled with my brother's loud snoring, heavy coughing, and little blips and beeps from my phone. There's nothing quite like Tetris to pass hours away without realizing that you've actually lost most of the early afternoon. Suddenly, my phone began to ring. It was Yugi. I hit the 'answer' button on my screen and jumped to my feet.

"Just a minute," I breathed as I scurried into the hallway. "Sorry, Yugi, my brother's asleep and I didn't want to wake him."

"...Mokuba."

"What?" I asked. I heard him draw in a sharp breath.

"Go turn on your TV." His voice was shaky and anxious. I narrowed my eyes, unsure of what to make of his demands, since he usually didn't make them. But once I was in the lounge and the television was on, I could barely even breathe.

"...For those of you just joining us, Kaiba Corporation headquarters have spontaneously combusted. It is uncertain on whether or not the president was in his office when this happened; so far, no one has been able to emerge..."

I stared at the flames dancing across the screen. I couldn't speak, or breathe, but I knew I couldn't stay silent. All that would escape my mouth was a soft whine.

"Mokuba, Joey may have been in the building. He left school about an hour ago...he hasn't dropped off the laptop yet, has he?" Yugi asked hopefully. I cringed, not wanting to let him down. But lying would be useless.

"No," I forced out. "He hasn't." I swallowed. The thought that Joey may have died trying to get a stupid computer for my brother was weighing on me more than anything else. "Yugi? Why don't you come over?"

"I'm on my way," he responded quickly. "We can work this out together."

I pressed the 'end call' button and closed my eyes, willing myself to keep calm. It was beyond difficult, though, and my insides were twisting and turning all around themselves. As much as Seto needed to keep resting, he needed to know what was going on with his company even more. I crept back to his room and walked in somberly, as though I was going to a funeral. My brother was sprawled on his stomach, breathing heavily and drooling on his pillow. I sighed and wiped the stream of saliva from his mouth before shaking him on the back rather roughly.

"Seto, you need to wake up."

My brother moaned, and pulled the blankets over his head. My heart broke; he never reacts like this. Tears stung my eyes and began to roll down my cheeks as I pulled the covers back off of him.

"I know you're sick...and I want nothing more than for you to get the rest you need, but something terrible has happened."

My brother sat up as soon as he heard the tears in my voice. "Mokuba, what's wrong?" he asked huskily, coughing. My phone started ringing again, and I knew Yugi had arrived. I groaned and ran out of his room, calling back to him to just hold on. Once I reached the foyer I entered in the code to open the gate for Yugi, and opened the front door. I dashed out to meet him.

"Any news yet?" he asked worriedly, his violet eyes tortured with concern. I shook my head.

"I haven't even gotten to tell Seto what happened yet," I admitted, leading him back inside. Once we were in the house, I turned to him. "You don't need to come up there with me. He's going to be really upset."

"We're in this together," Yugi insisted. "Besides, I've seen your brother's temper before."

I sighed, but allowed Yugi to follow me. "Not when he's sick, you haven't." I gently pushed to door open. "Seto, Yugi's here."

My brother's eyes widened momentarily, then narrowed as his rival stepped through the door. "What the hell is he here for? I stayed home so I could avoid stress, not encourage it-"

"Seto, Kaiba Corp exploded," I blurted out. My brother's expression was unreadable; he just stared back and forth between Yugi and me. I started to cry as I pulled out his remote and turned the TV on. He turned the glare on the television, but his face turned even paler as he watched the pile of smoldering ashes that used to be his life's work smoking and flaming behind rows of ambulances, fire trucks, and various media.

"We need to go," he muttered, throwing on a robe and his shoes. "Now!"

Yugi and I raced out to keep up with him as he sauntered out to the garage; there was no time to waste in calling for the limo. We both jumped in the back seat before Seto glared through the rear-view mirror.

"Yugi, who invited you?" he growled, slamming the key into the ignition.

"I did!" I snapped back, causing both Yugi's and my brother's eyes to widen in surprise. "I asked Yugi to get your computer for you after school, but he didn't have time, so he asked Joey to help me. Seto, there's a chance that Joey was in that building when it went down!" I threw myself back against the seat, still returning the venomous glare my brother was infamous for emitting. I expected him to make some snide remark about Joey, but his expression actually softened when I insinuated he might be dead. Seto may have despised the feisty blonde, along with the rest of Yugi's friends, but he'd never wish actual harm on any of them.

He remained silent as he drove to the scene. It was a terrible sight to see: Seto Kaiba, the rock-solid, stone-cold CEO of Kaiba Corporation, running around in public wearing dark blue pajamas and a white robe in the middle of the day while he burned with fever. His dark hair was slightly messy and his already pale complexion was completely void of color. It was something no one would have dared to expect; hell, _I_ never thought I'd see this day. He pulled up to the scene, where some reporters were backing off while others began pressing him for question.

"_Not now_," he roared, pushing through the reporters. Yugi and I, being the small people we were, kept getting swallowed by the crowd.

"Seto!" I called out as Yugi grabbed my arm. My brother turned sharply around, and his tired (yet determined) eyes scanned everywhere until they met mine. He dove back into the throngs of people and grabbed both my hand and Yugi's, then dragged us up along with him until we were safely out of reach of the nosy, crazed people. He placed us right ahead of him, shielding us from anyone trying to meddle into the company affairs. A cop walked over, giving Seto a partially sympathetic once-over.

"Clearly this is not your day," she said bluntly. "I'm Officer Winters. We need a list of employees and anyone else who could have been in the building today."

Seto coughed and leaned back against a tree to steady himself; I could tell he was feeling dizzy. I rushed forward to brace him against me, then turned to the cop.

"I can get that for you," I told her. "Has anyone been...found...yet?"

She hesitated. "Not yet. We haven't been able to get close enough to search yet, not to mention determine what caused this to happen." The cop swallowed and looked back at the building, then to my brother again, who was slowly slipping down against the tree. "Mr. Kaiba, we can get you an ambulance. I understand you want to be here while this is happening, but it's obvious you aren't feeling the greatest."

My brother was about to decline harshly, but I made a different decision.

"That would be good for him. He needs somewhere to rest while we wait for things to unfold."

The cop nodded and walked back to where some other police were. Seto turned to shoot me a sharp look.

"Mokuba, I don't need anyone fawning over me. I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, Seto, no one fawns over you except maybe me, and no, you're not fine." At this point he was sitting on the ground next to the tree, so I was clearly able to see the sweat glistening on his face. I reached over and gently wiped it off with my hand; he closed his eyes and leaned into it.

"I don't know how much more I can take, Mokuba."

I frowned and wiped my damp hand off on my jeans, then leaned over to hug him. He accepted the gesture and returned it. I looked over at Yugi, who had been standing quietly to the side, staring intently at the smoky mess than was once a building. I pulled away from my brother's embrace and approached my friend.

"Yugi...?" I said softly. He swallowed.

"Joey hasn't answered any of my texts or calls." His voice was quiet, but so flat it was almost bitter. I moved forward and gave him a gentle half-hug then pulled back, unsure of what else to say or do.

"Mokuba...do you have your phone on you?" Seto asked. I nodded and went to hand it to him. "I don't know why I even asked." He took out his phone as well, and Yugi and I watched as he sifted through various kinds of data, his eyes traveling back and forth between the devices. Suddenly he glanced up at Yugi. "I need yours now."

"But if Joey calls-"

"It'll come through," Seto interrupted. "I'm trying to search for his location, but I need his number to access the GPS." Yugi obediently gave his phone to my brother, and we watched for a few more intense moments until Seto looked up. His dark blue eyes reflected what I recognized as compassion, though Yugi might not have been able to read it.

"The last signal received was from around here."

Yugi swallowed again and turned his attention back to the ashes. I put my arm around his shoulders and stared at the ruins with him for a few moments before he sighed.

"I should go home...I-I need to help my grandpa, but..." His eyes were full of tears and his voice wavered. I hugged him again.

"I'll keep in touch," I promised him. I know he wanted to stay, but just couldn't, and that it had nothing to do with having to help his grandfather.

"Yugi," my brother said, stopping Yugi from leaving right then. The shorter boy turned around to look at Seto. "My limo will take you. You'll never get by this crowd by simply walking through it." Seto pulled out his phone, called Roland, and a few minutes later, our limo was waiting for Yugi. I waved goodbye, and Seto nodded at him. He thanked us both, then disappeared into the black car. I walked back to my brother and sank beside him.

"Seto...you could have been in here today," I said suddenly. He turned to me and pulled me close.

"Guess I should be thanking you for those handcuffs."

Instead of laughing, I began to cry. "There's no way I could go on without you. If I ever lost you, I-I can't even think about what could happen. Seto, you're my big brother...I love you so much. I hate that Joey might be in that," I motioned to the wreck, "but I can't help feeling relieved that you're sitting next to me all sweaty and feverish."

"It's called serendipity."

"What?" I asked. He kissed my forehead before standing up, pulling me to my feet with him.

"When things happen by chance in a beneficial way. A happy accident. The word for this is serendipity. Though I wouldn't describe anything about this as 'happy,' I would say that we are very fortunate to still be alive and well together," he informed me.

I couldn't agree more. All I could do was hope that everything would get under control enough to help anyone who might still be alive...


	4. Weight of the World

Serendipity

Time passed slowly. Seto had finally allowed himself to be taken to an ambulance where he could rest and be given fluids, but only after I called our personal doctor to care for him. I also put a call in to Roland to grab a copy of the Kaiba Corporation employee roster for Officer Winters. Other than that, there wasn't much I could do.

Finally, the building was deemed safe to approach. I watched as the fire squad and other people dove into the mess of ash and rubble. My stomach felt like it had learned how to twist into new shapes and was practicing how to turn itself into a damn Celtic trinity knot. At least, it did so until they started wheeling out the bodies. Then it froze itself into a block of solid ice and sunk all the way to my feet. The crowd was now being ushered even further away, but even if I was in the middle of it I still wouldn't have noticed...

"Mr. Kaiba!" It took me a minute to realize Officer Winters was speaking to me, not my brother. I tore my eyes away from the accumulating amounts of body bags being loaded into other ambulances and turned to the cop. Her face was very tense and concerned.

I blinked and looked up at her after sparing one last glance at the solemn scene. "Yes?"

"We- the other cops and I- believe that it might be better if you got out of here and left this up to your brother...after all, he is the president of the company. And this is nothing any child should have to deal with." She looked at me sympathetically, but I felt angry.

"My brother is very sick and needs to rest. I may be young, but I am the vice president of the company, and I can handle anything," I told her stubbornly, slightly insulted that she saw me as nothing more than a mere child.

Officer Winters gave me a look that said 'if you're sure,' then rearranged her blonde ponytail and headed back to the other officers. I leaned back against the tree and monitored the situation some more, until my brother slipped out of his ambulance and walked towards me, stumbling every few steps.

"Mokuba, I don't want you to see this," he said huskily, sounded even worse than he did before. He staggered forward, trying to grab me, but I side-stepped him so he just stumbled into the tree.

"I can take care of this," I insisted indignantly. "If anybody shouldn't be here right now, it's you...look at yourself! You're getting worse. Get some sleep, Seto." My brother stared at me blankly, and for a moment I thought he was about to tear me a new one for being insubordinate or something.

But he just collapsed onto the ground.

"Hey!" I called out to the team that had been looking after my brother; luckily, they were already rushing over right when he fell. I dropped to my knees beside him and brushed my hand against his forehead. I swore I might as well have touched a metal object that had just been taken out of a pit of fire, and winced in concern as I drew my hand back. They loaded him onto a stretcher and hauled him back to the ambulance. A few moments later, both the fire chief and our doctor were calling for my attention.

_Stay calm, Mokuba, you can do this, you're strong._..

The two glanced at each other, but the doctor stepped forward first.

"Mokuba, your brother's fever is nearing 106 degrees, he needs to get to the hospital now, or there could be severe repercussions," he told me bluntly, and I cringed.

"But I can't leave...but I need to be with my brother..." I frantically mused to myself, albeit out loud. The doctor looked at me with a desperate expression.

"I will go with them and keep you updated, but he really does need to be taken in," he urged.

"Okay," I agreed hastily, waving him off. Seto would want me to do this. The ambulance containing my brother was already starting to pull away, and the physician ran out to his car. I turned to the fire chief, feeling as though I was about to burst. "Please tell me you know what happened here," I begged.

"I do, actually," he said in a calm voice, and I shamed myself internally for letting my emotions overwhelm me. "Furnace malfunctioned and exploded, which caused everything else to go up in flames." He paused and looked at me carefully. "The medical examiner needs someone to help identify some of the remains..."

"I will," I said, trying to keep my voice from revealing how scared I was. He stared at me for a lingering moment, then brought me to the cops.

"The vice president will help ID the bodies," he told a man dressed in a suit. This new man looked down at me and swallowed. What choice did they have?

"I'm Detective Landon Wells. Come with me. I'll take you over to the ME's office. The bodies are already in transport." I nodded and followed him to a car, the slipped into the back seat. He glanced back. "You're welcome to sit up here. It's not like you're a perp," he said with a small smile. I just gave a half shrug and sank back into the seat as he let out a small sigh and began to drive. About fifteen minutes later we arrived, and he led me to a room full of metal and cold and death. I shuddered, but kept my face straight.

They'd recovered the majority of the bodies at this point; only four employees on the list weren't accounted for yet. Most of them appeared fairly normal, aside from the exceptional chalkiness of their complexion, although a few had some bad burns. A couple were badly charred, but I recognized them as two filing workers my brother hired recently. They were some of the nicest employees in the building, and that's what made me feel especially ill as I gazed at their destroyed bodies. Most of the other bodies were those of engineers. There were also many legal workers and reception staff, but I noticed with a slight air of hope that Joey wasn't among the bodies. _Please let him be okay..._

I swallowed and looked up at the medical examiner. "How many were found alive?" I asked.

The woman gave me a sympathetic look. "About eighty. They were all taken to the emergency room and probably admitted. Hopefully they'll make it..." she trailed off.

My body began to shake and I felt dizzy. I grabbed the table to my left, and looked at the doctor and blinked. "We had over two hundred employees in the building today...only eighty lived?" I whispered. "That's less than half."

The woman was saved from answering me when the detective stepped forward. "I think I should take you home," he said. "This day has been too much for me to handle; I can only imagine you feel the same way." I looked up at him.

"I need to go to the hospital. They took my brother there, he's very sick and I need to be near him right now," I pleaded. Detective Wells glanced at the ME, then sighed.

"All right, let's go," he agreed, and I followed him back to the car. By this time, it was going on ten at night. I pulled out my phone and called Yugi while the man drove.

"Hello?" he answered anxiously.

"Yugi!" I said. "It's Mokuba. Listen, I can't really talk, but I just wanted to let you know that...Joey hasn't been accounted for. I just went in and had to identify a bunch of the bodies, but Joey definitely wasn't there. Maybe he's at the hospital." I intentionally left out the part that there was a strong possibility that there were still missing bodies. "My big brother was taken to the hospital, so I'll check when I'm there."

He exhaled slightly, as though he had stopped breathing. "Mokuba, you might not hear this enough, but you are so strong," he said quietly. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," I assured as I held back tears. I hung up and dialed my doctor's number.

"Mokuba, I was just about to call you," he answered. "Your brother is doing well. We're keeping him at least overnight because of the fever and stress, but he's awake and...acting like himself." I smiled a bit as I heard loud demands in the background. "But I am going to get him to calm down one way or another," he continued in a mutter.

"Tell Seto I'm on my way...in fact, I'm here now," I informed him as the detective pulled up right in front of the hospital. I turned to him.

"Thank you," I said, and unbuckled myself.

"Mokuba," the man said. I turned to look at him again. "You are doing an amazing job handling all this. Your brother raised you right," he told me quietly. "But if you need anything at all, here's my card." I accepted the card and thanked him again, then dashed to find my brother.

I dashed around a couple nurses' stations until I was directed to where my brother was. I was very happy when I was told visitor's hours were open here and I could stay as long as I wanted. I passed several rooms until I reached the last door on the end, then knocked.

"I'm not going to get better if you keep irritating me," my brother's grumpy voice echoed from inside. I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open. Seto was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, completely unaware that it was me.

"Dr. Amaro was right, you are acting like yourself. You can't even use being sick as an excuse anymore," I said. Seto's eyes popped open and he sat up.

"Mokuba..." he said, his tone going from stone-cold to marshmallow-soft. He held out his arms, and I ran to the side that was not hooked up to the IV. I crawled on the bed beside him and he pulled me onto his lap. That when my tears started to fall.

"Seto, it was so horrible," I began, and my voice was surprisingly steady. I just wished it didn't sound so weak. He tightened his grip on me and began to rock me slowly.

"You don't have to tell me what happened...a policewoman already did that for you," he said softly. My tears continued to pour and I pressed my face into his excessively warm neck. "My brave little brother..." he continued, still swaying me from side to side. I looked up into his blue eyes and he wiped my tears away.

"I had to identify so many bodies," I whispered, shivering slightly at the memory. Seto felt my shudder and started rubbing my back comfortingly. He continued to rock me in silence for a few moments before he spoke.

"Wheeler...was he...?"

"No. Not found, or maybe he's here. I should go check on that." I tried to slide onto the floor, but Seto kept me secured tight in his arms.

"No. You're staying here. You need rest, Mokuba." Seto paused for a moment. "Yugi would tell you the same thing, and he'll be fine for one night."

I knew my brother was right, so I melted back into his arms. He started to rock me once again. "Mokuba, you did so well today...you went through so much...I couldn't have even asked for you to do this."

I remained quiet as I nestled my head right below his chin so I could listen to his steady heartbeat. He pulled the blankets around both of us and continued to rock me as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. I yawned widely, but suddenly shook my head as I came to a realization. I needed to stay awake in case anything happened. Seto was very sick, and I was the only one who could help. My body stiffened as I tried to stave off the comfort my brother was giving me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, narrowing his eyes down at me.

"I almost fell asleep," I said, ashamed.

"No one deserves rest more than you right now," Seto said firmly. "We've both got our phones on just in case, but I want you to put yours right here-" he motioned to the table beside the bed, "-and then I want you to sleep."

I reluctantly handed him my phone so he could set it next to his, then relaxed against him again. I tucked my head right under his chin once again and went back to concentrating on his heartbeat. It was so strong and steady; ironically, that's all I needed right then. Strength and stability. It helped me feel like tomorrow was far away and I had plenty of time to prepare for what was yet to come. I wrapped my arms around Seto as my eyelids drooped again, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.


	5. The Night After

Serendipity

**Author's Note**: This chapter is the only one that will be written in Seto's point of view instead of Mokuba's.

* * *

I am not an emotional person, so when the events of the day caused me to experience such a variety of conflicting and overwhelming feelings, it ultimately only left me numb. Which might have been for the best; I was also struggling physically. It killed me to admit it, but between the feverish chills, dull aches, bothersome coughing and congestion, and the endless tiredness, I wasn't in any place to even deal with the issues. The guilt when a policeman informed me that Mokuba was on his way to identify the bodies of my employees was the most difficult thing I had to deal with that fateful day. It was something no thirteen year old child should ever have to do. Yet he voluntarily did it, and he did it well.

The moment he arrived in my hospital room, I had no valid words of gratitude for him. They simply weren't enough. He'd done so much during that day, and honestly dealt with everything better than I could have, than I _was_ dealing with it. All I could do was hold him tight, and I knew deep down that's all he wanted. My strong, determined, loyal little brother. He cried, but I would have been alarmed if he hadn't. Mokuba is strong, but empathetic. The kid feels it all, and I am so proud of him for becoming the wonderful person he is. Deep down, I'm the same way, but I can't show any of it. I am not strong enough. My fear of exploitation obscures my ability to display compassion, and my fear of pain prevents me from showing any sort of empathy. I do take sympathy on people; however, it is not something usually displayed. When it is, it becomes pity, which I despise more than almost anything.

Knowing that my life's work had literally gone down in flames was nearly incomprehensible. Of course, we'd eventually rebuild with every single precaution possible, but in those moments, it was like all the oxygen was sucked from around me. It would be like starting the company all over _again- _andfor the third time: all the rehiring, endless meetings with architects and engineers, and countless sleepless nights. The only positive was that I had every single piece of important and crucial data backed up at home.

Overall, it was important that I get well again so Mokuba was not left to do everything alone. I leaned back into my pillows even further, shifting my sleeping brother to the side a bit. He sighed in his sleep and snuggled underneath my arm, which was still encircling him. My head was pounding, my body felt like it was going to disintegrate, and I was beyond exhausted. I closed my eyes and focused on the sleepy noises my little brother made. He breathed noisily through his slightly open mouth, and occasionally he let out a faint snore or a small bubbly sound. I opened my eyes and cringed with guilt when I realized exactly how taxing the day had been on him. After all, he had been up the majority of the previous night (thanks to my illness) in addition to taking care of my company's problems. I gently pulled him close to my heart again and began to stroke his long raven hair. There was no way I deserved him...

I must have gripped him too tight or made some sort of sudden movement, because the next thing I knew, he stirred and woke up. He blinked up at me sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning as he pushed himself into a sitting position. I checked my phone, then set it down again.

"Almost four in the morning," I responded gently. "Go back to sleep, I know you're very tired."

He didn't lay down again; instead, he placed his small hand on my cheeks and forehead and frowned. "You're _still_ burning up. Why are you awake?"

"Because I'm not feeling well enough to sleep," I admitted. Mokuba stared at me with such compassion and innocence that guilt filled my heart once again. He gave me a gentle hug then looked up again.

"Like that time I got the chicken pox?"

I smiled faintly at that memory. It was about four years ago...he was so itchy and miserable it broke my heart. Luckily, Gozaburo was out of the country at the time, so I was able to care for him. He spent those few nights in my bed, covered in chalky pink lotion. He couldn't (or maybe just _wouldn't_) sleep at all, so I stayed up as well, reading him books, playing games with him, and watching him draw and color.

"Yes," I told him. "Kind of like that."

Mokuba sighed. "Oh, Seto..." he murmured at me. I rolled my eyes and laid down all the way, but he straightened up even more and started running his hand through my hair. I reached over my head and gently took it into my own.

"Mokuba, I don't need you to watch over me, I need you to sleep. Come on," I coaxed, pulling on his hand lightly. He shook his hand and stubbornly retracted his arm.

"I already got over five hours, I'll be okay. You get less than that on a normal day," he said, almost petulantly. He jumped off the bed before I could grab him. "I'm going to ask the nurse to get you something so you'll sleep." Mokuba raced out of the room before I could disagree.

A few minutes later, he returned with the night nurse, who carried a small cup of water and an even smaller container of medication. She set them both down beside my phone and pulled out the electronic thermometer.

"Your brother says you're still very warm, so I'm going to check your temperature again." Before I could say anything, she stuck the instrument into my mouth; I caught my brother suppressing a laugh. He knew exactly what I was thinking. A moment later, the thing beeped, and the nurse removed it with a sigh.

"You've been holding steady at 103 degrees," she informed me, and handed me the two cups. "I want you to drink that entire cup of water, though. It'll help you feel better."

I obliged, just to humor her. After she left, Mokuba crawled back beside me and I laid back down. My little brother curled up beside me and sighed contentedly. I began to doze lightly for a little while, until a nurse walked back in.

"Mr. Kaiba?" she said quietly. I lifted my head and blinked. "There's another patient who wishes to have a word with you. He said his name is Joey Wheeler. Do you know him?"

Mokuba (who remained awake) gasped. "Joey! He's alive!"


	6. Bittersweet Rivalry

Serendipity

I followed the nurse anxiously as she lead me down the hall. Seto wasn't happy that I'd bounded off like that, but it was _Joey_. The nurse paused in front of an elevator before pressing the button and turned to me.

"Just so you're aware, Mr. Wheeler is in critical condition. He's conscious but quite out of it."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She pressed the button and stood quietly until the doors opened and we entered. She selected 'Floor 4' and sighed, then looked down at me.

"He almost asphyxiated. His lungs were singed and he's having trouble breathing, so he is hooked up to a machine that helps him to breathe. He can't talk, so he writes what he wants. You will also notice that his leg is broken, and so are several ribs." The elevator pinged and the doors opened. "I'm afraid you can only see him for a few minutes, this is technically out of ICU visiting hours. But Mr. Wheeler said this was urgent."

I was nervous. The way she spoke insinuated that the doctors were hiding something, and this made me uncomfortable...but at least he was alive. She brought me to a room near the nurses' station and knocked gently before ushering me inside. And there he was, lying listlessly on his hospital bed, leg elevated, and hooked up to tons of machines, looking absolutely miserable.

"Joey..." I said softly, rushing to his side and patting his hand. His head turned towards me, amber eyes lighting up a bit. I smiled. "I'm glad to see you...the nurse said you wanted to talk to me?"

He pulled out a miniature whiteboard with a black marker and quickly scribbled onto it.

_I got your brother's laptop. I think it's safe. _He pointed to the black bagsitting on a table on the other side of the room. I didn't know what to say, and tears filled my eyes.

"I'm so sorry I asked you to do this..." I whispered. Joey shook his head -probably as violently as he could in his state- and scribbled something else down.

_Did you burn down your own building?_

I blinked. "Of course not!"

_Then it's not your fault. Don't feel bad. I'm alive, right?_

I reached out and touched his hand, then sighed. "You're going to be here for awhile."

Joey's eyes widened and his expression turned frantic.

"What's wrong?"

_Can't stay. Too expensive._

"Joey, you almost died saving my brother's stupid computer," I said quietly. "We'll pay your hospital bills." He frowned and narrowed his eyes, and started to write something else. "Don't even think about refusing. It's happening and you're really in no position to say otherwise."

He paused for a moment, watching me. I must have looked pretty convincing, because he just laid back down again.

_Thank you._

"No, thank you, Joey. I appreciate what you did, and we're going to help you." The nurse cleared her throat, signaling I needed to leave. "Rest now, I'll call Yugi in a little bit when visiting hours start. He'll want to see you."

The battered blonde nodded slightly and I have him a small smile, then grabbed my brother's laptop bag and headed back to his room. Seto looked like he was resting, but when I sat down in the chair next to his bed, his eyes opened and his head jerked towards me. I smiled slightly and lifted the black bag and set it on his bed; he immediately shot into a sitting position, eyes wide.

"What the hell? How is this possible?" he demanded, pulling out his computer, which was indeed miraculously unscathed.

"Joey saved it. He's in pretty bad shape..." I informed my brother, watching his expression closely. "I told him we'd cover his hospital expenses. It's the least we could do for him."

Seto had already started the computer up, but shot me a look when I told him that. "I could have bought a new laptop for that price."

"Seto!"

"Fine, Mokuba, fine. We'll help Wheeler out." Seto pulled out several files from the second pocket in his laptop bag, which I recognized as those holding blueprints for his new Duel Disk model. "The idiot somehow saved more than just my laptop."

"You mean those weren't already in the bag?"

"No..." Seto said absently as he scanned through the papers. "No, they were on my desk."

I watched for a few moments as he continued to shuffle through the files. Then I gently pulled the papers out of his hands and slipped them back into a folder. I set it aside and crawled up next to him.

"You can work later, when you're better. Besides, the doctor said he's going to discharge you today."

"I'm aware of that. The nurse is getting my paperwork right now," he responded, reaching over to grab the files once again, and shoved them back into the bag, along with his computer. I zipped it up for him and set it over on the chair, then sighed, staring up at him.

"When do you want me to schedule a meeting with the architects and contractors?" I asked, figuring my brother would want to start as soon as possible. But he looked down at me with a serious look, although it was a softer look than usual.

"Mokuba, just let it be for today," he said with a sigh. My eyes widened; Seto never just lets things go.

"All right..." I said, concerned, but right then the nurse walked in and handed Seto his papers wordlessly. Clearly, she'd caught on that my big brother was just impossible. I grabbed his bag and followed him out to where the limo was waiting, and crawled in after him. He let out a heavy sigh, and I leaned up against him. He put his arm around me and turned to stare out the window. I realized my body felt quite sluggish and a little achy, but figured it was because of everything I'd done in the past twenty-four hours alone. I shifted, attempting to grab my phone. Seto looked down at me, frowning.

"Mokuba, what are you doing?"

"I need to call Yugi. I told him I'd call when we found out about Joey." I looked up at Seto, who looked like he was going to protest, but I narrowed my eyes at him. He sighed and returned to staring at the passing streets as we neared closer to home. I dialed Yugi's number, and he answered after exactly two and a half rings.

"Hello?" he said, sounding both exhausted and restless.

"Hey...Yugi...it's Mokuba. I just wanted to let you know that Joey's at the hospital, and that you can visit him until five tonight. He's in ICU," I told him.

"Oh, _thank you_..." he responded, sighing out as though he hadn't breathed in weeks. "I'll talk to you later, then, thank you so much, Mokuba."

Before I could answer, the line went dead. I grinned and shoved my phone back into my pocket, then leaned back up against my brother. He looked down at me.

"What are you smiling about?"

The limo pulled around into our driveway, and I scrambled out of it and helped Seto out before I answered. I grabbed his hand, and we started walking to the front door.

"I'm just happy that I've been able to help everyone and take care of everything," I finally responded. Seto glanced down at me and gave my hand a quick squeeze before he let go, and started to head to the staircase.

"You've done extraordinarily well, Mokuba. Now, I'm going to change into my pajamas and get into bed. Why don't you come and watch a movie with me?" he asked, looking back over his shoulder. I grinned and bounded past him and up the stairs, then looked down at him.

"Okay! I'm going to put mine on too, though. Just give me a second." I went to my room and pulled out my red pajamas, tore off my clothes from the day before, and slipped into their cottony warmth. I glanced into the mirror, but did a double-take when I noticed the dark circles under my eyes. I rubbed them, then blinked a few times. No change. I sighed, then headed back to Seto's room.

My big brother was already lying in bed, with the remote in his hand. I leapt onto the bed beside him, sitting cross-legged, and pulled a pillow out to fluff it. Once it was satisfactorily puffy, I replaced it behind me and burrowed under Seto's blankets. The achy feeling washed over me again; I must have been _really_ tired. Seto stretched out and put his arm around me.

"What do you want to watch?" he asked, flipping through selections. I shrugged and shifted so that I was half-sitting and half-lying on my back with his arm around my shoulders.

"Doesn't matter," I replied, watching the movies go by. "How about that?"

He looked down at me and blinked. "A documentary on Greek mythology? Really?"

"It beats anything super heavy or crazy, and you don't like comedies. I mean, we've got our lives for that right now," I said, giving him a sad smile. He shrugged and started the show, then reached over to grab his medicine, and downed the rest of it. I sighed and snuggled closer to Seto, yawning. His hand grazed over my forehead, stroking my bangs back, but froze rather quickly.

"You're feeling warm, Mokuba," he said tensely. I pushed his hand away and smiled up at him.

"I'm fine, big brother. All I feel is tired, I've done a lot in the past day. Can we just take a nap?"

Seto nodded, then shut the television off. "All right," he said, lying down on his side and pulling me into his arms once again. "That medicine is already getting to me anyhow."

"Just don't start snoring so loud again," I muttered, though I was still smiling. Seto's body tensed, and I stifled giggles.

"I don't snore."

"You did the night before last," I replied, and couldn't stop myself from laughing. He sighed and pressed my face into his chest.

"Shush."

I wriggled around and laid on my back, turning my head to look at him. "It's okay. You need to sleep." I yawned and my eyes were suddenly extremely heavy. "I'll call some contractors and architects tomorrow about rebuilding."

Seto's arms tightened around me. "Mokuba, that can wait a couple days."

I didn't respond, but only turned over onto my side again and snuggled into him. I was just as stubborn as he was, and I knew what I wanted to do. Before too long, everything faded to a pleasant shade of black, and I was sound asleep.


End file.
